Chapter 136: Spring Comes Upon A Withered Tree (III)

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Chapter 136: Spring Comes Upon A Withered Tree (III)

When Ivan awoke from his unconscious state, he vaguely saw two little children crouching beside him through his blurred vision. But in the time it took him to blink, they had disappeared.

“You’re awake.” A gentle voice came from beside him. Ivan turned his head and saw a figure silhouetted against the setting sun, bending slightly over him. Long hair slipped softly over his shoulder, and a faint smile rested on his handsome face.

Ivan stared intently at him without saying a word.

Shang Ke crouched down. “I’ve treated all your injuries, but you were badly hurt. You need plenty of rest.”

“Thank you,” Ivan said hoarsely, his gaze never leaving Shang Ke.

“My name is Shang Ke. What about you?”

“Ivan.”

“Ivan, who are you? How did you get hurt?” Shang Ke began the necessary questioning.

“I’m an alchemist. A traitor working for the Forge Wraiths put a bounty on my head because I refined an Oxygen Orb.” Ivan made no attempt to hide anything and immediately made his allegiance clear. On this continent, members of any race might become slaves of the Forge Wraiths—except elves.

“What is an Oxygen Orb?”

“An artifact capable of storing highly concentrated oxygen. It can reduce the Forge Wraiths’ combat strength and weaken them.”

Only then did Shang Ke remember that the Forge Wraiths were extremely intolerant of oxygen. Three-fifths of their bodies consisted of metallic structures, and exposure to highly concentrated oxygen caused them to oxidize, slowing their movements.

Ordinary concentrations of oxygen had little effect on them, however. Otherwise, they would never have dared approach territories inhabited by elves.

“Could you show me one of the Oxygen Orbs you refined?” Shang Ke was quite interested in something capable of threatening the Forge Wraiths.

“Sorry, I don’t have one with me right now. Once my injuries heal, I’ll make one for you.” Ivan checked his belongings and found everything exactly where it had been, with no sign that anyone had searched through them.

“All right, I’ll hold you to that. Are you hungry?” Shang Ke pointed toward a stone table nearby. “There’s fruit over there. Help yourself.”

“Thank you.” Ivan watched Shang Ke leave before finally turning his attention to the fruit on the stone table.

He struggled into a sitting position and slowly shifted over to the stone table. Casually picking up a fruit, he took a bite. A rich fruity fragrance immediately filled his senses as sweet, refreshing juice slid down his throat, bringing an indescribably warm and soothing sensation. Even the pain from his injuries eased.

Ivan stared at the fruit in surprise. It looked no different from an ordinary fragrant fruit, yet its flavor and quality were worlds apart. He lifted his head toward the flourishing grove nearby, where plump, translucent fruits hung from the branches like pearls.

White fragrant fruits, red wild berries, purple dew-grapes, lush green vegetables, swaying vines, and a sea of flowers together formed a secluded paradise. Ivan remembered that only a month earlier, this had been nothing more than a wild forest overgrown with weeds. Now, under the elf’s care, it had become beautiful, abundant, and overflowing with life.

A gentle breeze swept through, sending flower petals dancing through the air as ripples spread across the lake. Gazing at the beautiful scene, Ivan felt as though his very soul had been cleansed. All his troubles faded away, leaving behind only tranquility.

“Keke, are we going to let that human stay with us?” Bubbles asked, sidling closer.

“Mm.” Shang Ke leaned against the window with Gray-Eye in his arms, gazing at the solitary man beneath the night sky.

“He looks really scary.” Bubbles pushed up the outer corners of his eyes with his fingers, trying to make a fierce expression.

“Mm, he does.” While treating Ivan, Shang Ke had removed the leather half-mask covering his face and discovered that one side had been badly disfigured. Dozens of black, snake-like marks seemed to coil across the left side of his face, twisting around one another in a truly frightening sight.

“So can we not keep him?” Bubbles squeezed into Shang Ke’s arms as well and looked up at him expectantly.

“No hurry. Let’s watch him for a few days first. If he’s a good person, we’ll let him stay. If he isn’t, we’ll drive him away. How does that sound?” Shang Ke rubbed his head and suggested, “You two can keep an eye on him. If he dares upset you, I’ll get even with him for you.”

“Okay!” Bubbles agreed loudly.

Gray-Eye obediently nodded as well.

The next day, Ivan discovered that he had acquired two little tails. Four bright green eyes followed him everywhere, watching his every move.

“These are…?” Caught between the two little elves, one on either side, Ivan looked stiffly toward Shang Ke.

“My children, Bubbles and Gray-Eye,” Shang Ke answered with a smile.

Where did these children come from? There definitely hadn’t been any a month ago!

Ivan’s emotions churned as he studied Shang Ke with barely restrained intensity.

He was already married?

A flash of violence passed through Ivan’s eyes, only to fade just as quickly. His entire demeanor suddenly became lifeless and dejected.

Shang Ke noticed the abrupt change in his mood and could not help marveling. Had instantly transforming his scummy aura into a deathly aura become his man’s new skill in this world?

If Shang Ke were not certain his instincts were correct, he might almost have suspected that something strange had possessed the man. The very day he rescued Ivan, he had already recognized his identity—this was indeed that same scummy man who always carried a charming mole in his palm.

But aside from his usual domineering, overbearing arrogance, this was the first time Shang Ke had ever seen his man exude such a strikingly melancholic, miserable aura.

“The children are adorable. Your wife… must be very beautiful,” Ivan said expressionlessly.

Shang Ke was certain this was the most insincere compliment in the world. Ivan had clearly misunderstood something, but Shang Ke had no intention of explaining just yet. After all, they had only just met, and everything he knew about this incarnation of the man came from a few scattered remarks.

Ivan recovered far faster than Shang Ke expected and was almost completely healed within four or five days. In truth, it was not that Ivan possessed an unusually rapid recovery rate. Rather, the environment and food here provided ideal conditions for healing. Even Shang Ke himself probably had not realized just how extraordinary his natural gift truly was.

Ivan had never imagined that this elf would accept a stranger like him so readily. Before he knew it, he had somehow become completely integrated into their daily life.

When Shang Ke taught the little elves basic magic, Ivan watched from the side. When Shang Ke took them to pick fruit, Ivan watched. When Shang Ke wove clothes for them, he watched. When Shang Ke went out, Ivan took responsibility for protecting them… Gradually, the two little elves went from keeping their distance and monitoring his every move to shamelessly climbing all over him and rolling around on his body.

Although Ivan could hardly bring himself to look kindly upon the two little elves he believed Shang Ke had fathered with “another woman,” the children showed absolutely no awareness that he supposedly disliked them. Within only a few days, they were already getting along with the “scary man” as though they were one family.

What happened to keeping an eye on him? Shang Ke was speechless at these two utterly unprincipled little traitors.

Once Ivan had more or less recovered, he began leaving early and returning late, occasionally disappearing for a day or two at a time. But his movements could not truly be hidden from Shang Ke, who was a Sacred Tree Elf. Every blade of grass and every tree in the forest could become his eyes. Still, searching through them consumed mental power, so Shang Ke rarely did so unless necessary.

Seven days later, Ivan returned from deep within the forest and said to Shang Ke, “Didn’t you want to see an Oxygen Orb?”

Shang Ke nodded.

“I’ve gathered all the materials needed to refine one. I’ll make it for you now.” Without concealing anything, Ivan laid out the materials one by one.

So he’d been going out all these days just to gather materials? Shang Ke looked over the assortment Ivan had brought back. Most were rare materials and must have taken considerable effort to obtain.

Shang Ke and the two little elves sat neatly in a row and quietly watched Ivan refine the Oxygen Orbs.

A burst of golden flame suddenly sprang from Ivan’s palm, and both little elves instantly dove into Shang Ke’s arms. Even Shang Ke found the scorching temperature uncomfortable, so he quickly cast a water-mist spell to envelop himself and the children.

Seeing this, Ivan instinctively moved farther away from them. Only after making sure he would not frighten them did he begin expertly smelting the materials with a peculiar technique.

Several dozen minutes later, under the astonished gazes of the three elves, two golden beads gradually condensed into shape. Intricate dark patterns covered their surfaces, and they gave off an aura that the elves instinctively found pleasing.

Ivan handed the beads to Shang Ke. “They’re for you.”

“Thank you.” Shang Ke curiously examined the two Oxygen Orbs. It was difficult to imagine that such tiny objects could contain such highly concentrated oxygen.

Ivan warned him, “There’s a sealing spell attached to the surface of each Oxygen Orb. I’ll teach you the spell, but don’t release the seal casually. You could hurt yourself.”

Shang Ke nodded to show that he understood.

Ivan looked deeply at him. “I have to leave. It’ll probably be some time before I can come back to see you.”

“Mm. Be careful.” Shang Ke smiled at him.

Ivan engraved that smile into his heart, then reluctantly left this beautiful place.

He desperately wanted to remain beside Shang Ke, but he did not want to disturb their peaceful life. In the future, whenever he became tired or wounded, this place would be his refuge.

Although Shang Ke knew they would meet again, Ivan’s departure still left him feeling a little empty.

“Keke, that human is actually pretty nice,” Bubbles remarked objectively while playing with an Oxygen Orb.

Gray-Eye silently nodded.

“Keke, if he comes back, let’s let him stay with us.”

“All right.”

A month after Ivan left, another little elf hatched from an egg-fruit. This child, however, gave Shang Ke endless cause for worry. She had been born afflicted with fire poison, with rose-colored blotches covering her skin. She frequently suffered from headaches and fevers and was often unable to sleep at night.

To treat her fire poison, Shang Ke ventured deep into the forest every day in search of spirit herbs.

Unfortunately, no matter what Shang Ke tried, he could only ease her suffering. The only thing capable of curing her completely was the Fountain of Life. But where exactly was the Wraith Jade sealing the Fountain of Life? Shang Ke had previously asked Ivan about it and learned only that the Wraith Jade was in the possession of one member of the Forge Wraith royal family. Which one remained unknown.

Shang Ke began reconsidering whether he should continue living in complete isolation. Seclusion offered the greatest possible protection for the young elves, but it also left him cut off from information and unable to keep track of changes in the outside world.

After several days of thought, Shang Ke ultimately decided to establish contact with nearby Warsong Camp little by little while keeping as low a profile as possible. Gathering intelligence would be his priority, with trading supplies as a secondary goal. At the same time, the fact that they were pure-blooded elves absolutely could not be exposed. Otherwise, the Forge Wraiths would stop at nothing to hunt them down.

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